Spray forming has become an accepted technique for producing steel prototype tooling (such as dies or molds) in a fraction of the time needed to make steel tooling conventionally. Spray forming techniques up to date have typically involved the following steps: (i) casting and solidifying a ceramic spraying pattern about a plastic master pattern of the tool to be produced; (ii) spraying metallic particles onto the ceramic pattern; (iii) allowing the sprayed metallic particles to cool thereby forming a metal deposit having the general shape of the master pattern; and (iv) separating the metal deposit from the ceramic mold pattern.
While the above method produces acceptable deposits, the method is relatively time consuming and expensive. For instance, it can take up to four days to form the ceramic spraying pattern. Also, the removal of the deposit from the ceramic spraying pattern is a relatively tedious and time consuming procedure. It usually requires a cutting device, such as a water jet, to first remove the majority of the ceramic spraying pattern from the deposit. Then the smaller ceramic pieces remaining on the deposit are chiseled from the deposit. Then the deposit is bead blasted to insure that all of the ceramic is removed. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of making metal deposits which can be used for steel prototype tooling which is less expensive and less time consuming than existing processes.